One step at a time
by borednerdsunited
Summary: Zoro will make it back to the Merry. No matter what it takes. No pairings intended but kinda Zoro/everyone if you really want to look at it that way. Now a two-shot!
1. One Step at a Time

A/N: Hello and welcome to my second fanfiction! Thankyou all so much for reading my first one! You have all encouraged me to write more so here is my second one! Special thanks to Nerica for being my first reviewer, and also to existence555 and unluckyteddybear13(anon.)*hint! hint!*. Sorry if this story is a little confusing because I switch from 3rd Person POV to Zoro constantly. Enjoy!

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One step at a time

Zoro was hurt. Hurt was probably an understatement. Blood flowed freely from several open wounds on his chest and arms, streaming down into the crisp, white snow beneath his feet. Every movement he made sent a fresh stream of the crimson liquid trickling down his battered body. Sure, the Marines had fared worse, most of them lying dead in the snow, but the amount of blood on the ground was a little excessive, even for him.

Zoro was also lost. Well, not really lost…the scenery around him had just moved, everything had just changed, it wasn't _HIS _fault. Call it whatever you want; but Zoro was not where he intended to be, and he was at a loss how to get there.

He had to get back to the ship. There were no ifs or buts. He had to get back to the ship.

He forced himself to his feet. The snowy ground seemed to buck and sway, making it hard to keep his balance. He rested his weight on one of the nearby trees and started again. _Take it one step at a time, _he told himself, _one step at a time._ He proceeded to take the first step. Lifting his foot took a monumental effort, and his boot thumped back into the thick snow. _Step one, _he told himself grimly. _Do it again. _He ordered his body.

He had to get back to the ship. No questions asked. He would get back to the ship no matter how many steps he had to take. He had to get back to the ship.

They were all waiting for him. It was almost routine that he would be last to arrive back, but hey, better late than never. He knew Nami would be pissed off at him, and then the stupid love-cook would join in. Robin would watch on with that calm face of hers and Luffy would laugh about it all and ask for food. Chopper would blubber about how worried he was and Usopp would launch into a heroic tale about "_when I was five, I was lost on a snowy island, when me and my 800 men encountered a giant creature of monstrous size! It was huge and had big fangs and was threatening to eat us all! Then I, the Great Captain Usopp, fought with the gigantic monster and…" _

Zoro shook his head to clear it. Telling himself one of Usopp's made-up stories wasn't going to help him make it back to the ship. He'd lost track of time. Zoro no longer knew if minutes or hours had passed. Dimly, he realized that the scenery around him had changed. He was no longer in the cold forest with dead trees surrounding him. The trees were beginning to thin out and he could see the edge of the forest. And, floating gloriously in the distance was the Going Merry. _Almost there, _he spurred himself on. _Just get out of this forest and down the hill._

He gasped raggedly for air. His wounds were starting to throb again and the icy cold air stung his face. Zoro was out of the forest now. The Merry was just down the hill. _Keep going_, he urged himself, _keep going._ He stumbled on down the hill, ignoring the pain, ignoring everything except his goal.

He had to get back to the ship. Almost everything he had, wanted and needed was right there, less than twenty metres in front of him. He had to get back to the ship.

Zoro missed his footing and tripped, rolling a few metres down the hill. _I wonder how many steps that counts as_, he though dazedly. The world blurred in and out of focus as he struggled to get back up. _I'm going to be the greatest swordsman in the damn world; _he told himself angrily, _I can't lose to a freaking HILL! _

Zoro was back on his feet. _One step at a time_, he thought, _one step at a time. _He was nearly there. So close that he could almost taste the success. _Too bad the blood kept getting in the way._ Nearly there……

Just a few more steps and he could pass out in peace.

Just a few more steps and he'd have made it into the light.

Just a few more steps and he'd be home.

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A/N: How was it? Please review and give me your suggestions and comments. And anything else you have to say! =]


	2. Home

A/N: Ok, due to request, I've written a second chapter to "One Step at a Time". I am still uncertain as to whether or not I should have just left it as a one-shot, but hey! the more the merrier. Hope you all enjoy. Dedicated to Slipmaskin and Smouse.

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"Where the hell is that idiot!?"

Nami's frustrated shriek echoed across the deck of the Merry. Complete and utter silence greeted her infuriated outburst.

_Of course no one has an answer_! She thought savagely. How anyone could be expected to know what the stupid moss head had been up to was beyond her. It was only to be expected, she supposed. Zoro was always, without fail, the last person back on the ship when they landed on a new island (apart from the times when he never left the ship as he was on watch). What could he possibly have gotten up to?

Yes, alright, so there had been some more moronic bounty hunters who couldn't resist the chance of bagging a few hundred million beli, but Zoro could deal with them! Couldn't he!? Well, they HAD been stronger than the rest of the Strawhats had expected…and Luffy DID have more trouble with this bunch than he usually did…and Sanji WAS currently having Chopper fix three broken ribs…so therefore there WAS the possibility that the swordsman might not be able to defeat them…

Nami crushed that train of thought as soon as she realized where it was heading. There was no way that Zoro would lose, right? And yet…where the hell was he!?

Unknown by Nami, the rest of the crew were having similar thoughts. Usopp refused to believe that the man he looked up to so much might not be coming back, but Usopp had never been good at handling doubts. Chopper sniffled apprehensively while he bandaged Sanji's chest, while Sanji himself was clenching his fists tightly, mentally threatening to torture the marimo with everything he could think of if the swordsman dared to not return. Robin looked a touch less detached to the rest of the world as she usually did, as if something other than history actually mattered.

But Luffy was his stubborn self. He refused to think that Zoro would lose. After all, he'd promised that he'd never lose again. Well, not until he got to fight Mihawk, at least. And in Luffy's straightforward thinking, that was all that really mattered. Because Zoro had promised. And Zoro NEVER his broke promises.

The atmosphere on the Merry was tense, to say the least. In fact, the tension was so thick you could have sawed it in half with a chainsaw. Nobody wanted to voice the unspoken horror they were all thinking of. Except for Luffy, of course.

Luffy had an unshakeable faith in his swordsman, and sat quietly in his "special seat", patiently waiting for Zoro's return. Somehow, even he had realized now was probably not the best time to ask for meat. So he sat there and waited for the green-haired man to come home.

Time crawled by, each minute feeling like hours. During this time, Chopper had finished bandaging Sanji, Usopp had come up with yet another story to tell his crew and even Robin was looking a smudge worried. Sanji had smoked half a pack of cigarettes and Nami had probably taken years off her life span by stress. Still, Luffy remained rather oblivious to it all.

Sanji was probably going to die of a premature heart-attack. The waiting was killing him, the tension and worry gnawing away inside him. His 14th cigarette probably wasn't doing much good either. But, no matter what, he'd wait it out. He'd wait for the annoying, stupid, moronic, direction-impaired marimo. Because there was no way in hell Zoro'd just lie down and die. They were nakama, damn it!

Usopp was looking very, very hard for something he prayed he'd see. He was going to tell the story he'd just finished inventing to everyone tonight. It just wouldn't be the same without Zoro. After all, Zoro was one of the manliest men Usopp had ever met. He was the perfect role model for the cowardly...um, no…careful sniper. Usopp gazed longingly out onto the bare winter landscape. If only…hang on a sec…was that…Usopp hurriedly adjusted his goggles in time to see a bloodstained, green-haired man step out of the snow forest. His shout rang across the Merry, startling everyone into action.

"ZORO!!"

Every head turned in the direction Usopp pointed in. Just in time to see the swordsman stumble and fall, rolling a little down the snow covered hill.

"Zoro…" whimpered Chopper, immediately reaching for his medicine kit. Relief swamped Usopp as he hurriedly clambered off the ship. Nami let out a pent up breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding and a small smile crossed Robin's normally passive face. Sanji fumed at Zoro for making his precious ladies worry, trying to pretend the lump in his throat had nothing to do with the miraculous reappearance of the marimo. Luffy laughed and grinned at everyone with an "I-told-you-so" expression on his childish face. They all rushed down to greet Zoro together, sand and snow flying in their wake.

Zoro was not feeling too good. He felt so light-headed he wondered it he was still walking in a straight line. Hell, he wondered if he was still walking at all! His vision was blurring and fuzzing. He thought he heard someone yell his name, but he wasn't sure. So he kept plodding on, repeating his mantra in his head. He'd never forgive himself if he gave up now.

Suddenly, something slammed into his stomach, knocking him off balance. A confused grunt forced his way out of his throat before he swayed and almost fell. Immediately after the first one, two more things slammed into him; one into his knees and one into his shoulder. The thing on his knees cried and sniffed and lectured him about his health at the same time. _Chopper…_he realized distantly. The person around his shoulders yelled at him about taking care of himself and a long, pointy nose jabbed into his neck every time a word was emphasized. _Usopp. Couldn't be anyone else with a nose like that._ Finally, the thing melded into his haramaki gibbered on and on about everything and anything, exuding energy and excitement, his vibrant aura swamping Zoro.

His eyes caught a flash of orange and a fist hit him in the head as the extremely angry navigator berated him for holding everyone up again. That and raising his already unpayable debt by a few million dollars. And yet somehow he couldn't help but hear the worry in her voice. He saw the raven-haired woman standing a little back from the scene, relief shining in her dark eyes. And finally, in the midst of all the confusion, he heard the swirly-brow say "…directionless, idiot marimo!"

"Screw you, dartboard-brow!" he heard his own faint, reflexive reply. It felt so good to be amongst his nakama again. Safe, warm, welcoming. Just like home. He enjoyed the feeling for a moment. Then the darkness closed in and Zoro crumpled to the ground.

Zoro woke up in the infirmary. His wounds had been washed and bandaged, and he was lying in soft, white sheets. He could hear voices floating down from above. His nakama were having some sort of party, it seemed. Luffy's cries for meat, Usopp's extravagant stories, Chopper's gasps of awe. The aho-cooks declarations of love for the two women who simply laughed. Yes, this was definitely home. Zoro sighed and closed his eyes, settling back into the warm blankets, savouring the welcome atmosphere. He'd join them later, when he was ready. But for now, he'd try to get as much sleep as possible. The party could wait. Unless they had sake. Lots and lots of sake.

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A/N: Ok, so how was it? Did you like it better one-shot or did you like it like this? I know the ending was kind of strange, but I really couldn't think of another way to finish it! Thankyouze all for reading now please review and tell me what you think (you can flame me all you like...)! =]


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